One of the many things Courtney and I bonded over when we first met was our love of children’s books. Whenever we went round to each other’s houses we would scour the bookshelves for any new ideas to read. Recently I was chatting with another fellow kids book lover over a coffee and we got onto the question — what would be your top ten? We found it really difficult to choose. For me it was clear The Happy Lion would be in my Top Ten but I equally love the stories The Happy Lioness and The Happy Lion’s Rabbits – but I couldn’t take up 3 spots with one series, there just wasn’t space! As you can imagine the conversation was a long one and we even took it back up on e-mail later that day.

I find it so interesting hearing other people’s lists and so we, here at Babyccino, decided to put the question out to people from the world of kid’s books to find out which books would make the grade for them. Each week we will be publishing a top ten list from a children’s book author, illustrator, publisher or reviewer. I can’t tell you how exciting I find this and hope you enjoy them too.

This might be your best series yet! As a librarian, I am thrilled and will probably end up buying every single book you list. Oh, no! But, here is one to kick off the readers’ suggestions. “Who sank the boat?” by Pamela Allen. It rhymes. It’s interactive. And no matter how many times you read it, the ending is always a blast! My son loved it as a baby and still loves it a 3! This one will be on his shelf for a very long time.